Perhaps the most common apparatus for processing wood logs include those designed for cutting or splitting the wood. Among the most well known of these for cutting wood include the conventional chain-driven saw (known usually as a “chain saw”) which can be hand-held and operated by a single person with suitable skills. Wood splitters are also known, some examples being mounted on a trailer or other frame-like structure and often pneumatically driven. Such splitters are also usually operated by one person, with another person preferably used to load wood onto the splitter. While these apparatus are well known and in wide use in many parts of this country, these are limited in the amount of work that can be performed on a daily basis. As a result, most are only used for relatively small jobs, e.g., to satisfy the operator/owner's own needs, e.g., for home heating such as in a woodstove.
To hopefully provide greater processing capabilities, various vehicle-mounted and trailer-mounted wood processing apparatus have been developed, the latter, trailer-mounted, being the most widely known. Typically, these apparatus are limited in their functioning capabilities, e.g., these usually either cut or split the wood but not both. Some have loading, discharge or other added capabilities, but still lack the capability to process wood logs and the like on a large scale without requiring utilization of additional equipment. Examples of wood processors are described in the following patents.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,779, there is described a hand portable attachment for splitting logs which is attachable to a tractor or similar equipment to work in conjunction with the tractor's “power piston.” This attachment includes a frame which is detachably attached to the tractor.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,008, there is described an upright free-standing log splitter operated by a vertical ram energized from a source such as a tractor to which the log splitter may be secured, or a trailer. The log splitter may be placed on a rear part of a truck or the like by means of parallel bars so that the splitter may be placed on the ground or raised for transportation. Wheels may be provided for the working platform or bed of the splitter so that it may be pulled, such as a trailer is pulled.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,585, there is described a log splitter which can apparently be attached to a bumper of an automotive vehicle and which utilizes the power steering pump of the vehicle to operate a hydraulic cylinder of the log splitter to advance and retract a log-engaging ram head in relation to a stationary log splitting wedge near the far end of the device. The splitting wedge has a protective swinging guard biased to the active safety guarding position by retraction of the cylinder operated ram head and biased to an inactive or open position by a spring device.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,374, there is described a mobile wood splitter in which a single steel wedge is mounted on one end of an I-beam base. A hydraulic cylinder is attached to the opposite end of the base and has its piston connected to a power ram which is slidably attached to the top surface of the I-beam base. A pair of removable legs are mounted to the bottom surface of the base and the entire wood splitter is mounted on an A-frame which is adapted for connection to the front end of any vehicle that is equipped to handle snow removal equipment.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,894, there is described a wood splitting device for mounting on a vehicle, including a hydraulically operated log splitter. The wood splitter is capable of being pivoted from a horizontal position along one side of the vehicle to a vertical position at the rear of the vehicle or to any angular position there-between, and is operational in any of these positions. The pivoting movement of the log splitter is powered by a hydraulic cylinder which moves guide and support arms pivotally connected to the splitter for supporting the splitter on the vehicle. The cylinder and the log splitter may be connected to the same hydraulic system, driven by an engine through a hydraulic pump and reservoir.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,870, there is described a portable wood splitter having a splitter frame adjustably mounted to a support frame. In one embodiment the support frame is wheel-supported and in another embodiment the support frame is mountable to a vehicle such as a tractor for transport. The splitter includes a splitter beam with a blade mounting slide plate powered to move toward and away from a platform at a lower beam end. The slide plate includes safety features to avoid finger injury. A double gib adjustment on the slide plate facilitates adjustment for wear and enables centering adjustments of the blade on the beam. The beam is mounted to the support frame by a clamp arrangement that will facilitate selective longitudinal adjustment of the beam relative to the frame. The beam is pivotal, on the first embodiment between a horizontal position overlying a towing tongue and an upright position. An adjustment feature enables re-positioning of the towing tongue from its horizontal operative position to an upright compact condition where an end of the tongue engages the ground surface to stabilize the unit.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,865, there is described a wood processor for cutting a log into a series of shorter lengths and subsequently splitting the shorter lengths into individual pieces of firewood or the like. The processor includes a carriage for receiving the log. Clamps engage the log from both sides to secure it in the carriage which advances the log into contact with a plurality of parallel rotating saws. After the carriage is retracted a pusher rod moves the cut log pieces along an axis onto a plurality of cradle members, one cradle supporting each log section. The cradle members are tilted to dump the log sections alternately onto opposite sides of the axis of log movement. The logs dumped from the cradles are fed to a plurality of individual hydraulically operated log splitters.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,070, there is described wood processor having similar capabilities as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,865, both patents being commonly assigned.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,834,154 and 4,869,303, also assigned to the same assignee as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,830,070 and 4,829,865, also describe wood processing apparatus having similar capabilities as the apparatus in said patents.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,960, there is described a double-action vertical wood splitter, intended to be mounted on a tractor or the like, which splits wood on each stroke of a hydraulic actuator. A removable double-edged blade is mounted on an elongated carriage which telescopically interacts with the frame resulting. A log-positioning cradle holds the wood being split in position on the splitter; additionally, it allows the operator to work from a position of safety in the event that the wood splits violently or attempts to kick out of the splitter. The blade coupling system allows the splitting blade to be removed for maintenance or replaced with another style blade, or it allows the splitter to be used as a hydraulic power unit which may be used with other attachments.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,090, there is described a wood-gripping apparatus that may be rotatably mounted on a vehicle, comprising an articulated boom with a gripping head rotatably and pivotally mounted thereto. The head is provided with opposable jaws that apply pressure to a wood object being gripped. A saw may be pivotally mounted to the head. A drive coupling may be provided to provide a continuous rotary link between hydraulic lines on a boom. The coupling comprises a coupling body rotatably housed within a sheath with a groove between the coupling body and the sheath. The groove permits fluid to be transmitted from the body to the sheath while these are rotated relative to each other. The boom may be provided with a link joining two of the segments, provided with dual articulated cylinder mounts on opposing sides and capable of permitting approximately 360 degrees of rotation between the segments.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,404, there is described a wood splitting apparatus which includes two wood splitting stages mounted on a trailer or truck bed. A first stage for splitting large diameter wood pieces is adapted to be transported in a substantially horizontal orientation to be pivoted to a vertical orientation for use. A horizontal second splitting stage is mounted horizontally. A double stage hydraulic system enables independent reciprocation of the two wood splitting stages independently of each other and is powered by a single motor for driving the hydraulic pump. Preferably a platen at the bottom of the vertical splitting assembly is located a distance from the pivot axis sufficient to engage a level ground surface and thereby to relieve a portion of the weight of the vehicle from a wheel thereof when in a vertical orientation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,141, there is described an apparatus mountable to a support vehicle for splitting and loading firewood. The apparatus includes a rigid connecting member and a wood splitter supported in a downward orientation by the connecting member. The connecting member includes a proximal component and a distal component, the proximal component mountable to the support vehicle and the distal component traversably mounted to the proximal component. The distal component includes traversing means for traversing the distal component relative to the proximal component. The wood splitter is rigidly mounted to the distal component, the wood splitter being traversable via the traversing means into a selectable position which is in alignment with the ends of a wood piece.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,732,774, there is described a multi-purpose farm apparatus which comprises a trailer, a combination baler and wood splitter and a hydraulic system mounted thereon. The combination baler and log splitter apparatus includes a baling portion having a baling chamber and a first gib assembly comprising a pressure platen and is mounted for reciprocal movement within the baling chamber. The combination baler and log splitter apparatus further includes a log splitting portion having a second gib assembly comprising a splitting wedge and is mounted to the trailer for reciprocal movement. The first gib assembly and the second gib assembly are mechanically coupled to the hydraulic system for effecting reciprocating movement of the first gib assembly and the second gib assembly. The hydraulic system further comprises a hydraulic motor.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,779,570, there is described a wood gathering and compaction vehicle which includes a vehicle frame movable over ground, a storage bin removably installed on the vehicle frame, with the storage bin having an inlet opening and an outlet opening. The vehicle further comprises a releasable bin attachment device for releasably attaching the storage bin to the vehicle frame, and a compactor fixedly installed on the vehicle frame, the compactor having an inner chamber, an opened inlet port for allowing wood to be inserted into the compactor inner chamber, an outlet port communicating with the storage bin inlet opening when the storage bin is installed on the vehicle frame, and a compaction device for allowing wood located in the compactor inner chamber to be forcibly moved from the compactor inner chamber into the storage bin through the compactor outlet port and the storage bin inlet opening.
While the apparatus described above are capable of performing desired wood processing functions, it is believed that these apparatus are not capable of doing so in a facile manner such as taught in the present invention. It is believed that a wood processing apparatus possessing the unique capabilities as taught herein would represent a significant advancement in the art.